BirthStones
by spotty-bee
Summary: Home World never needed kindergartens, so they never needed to invade other planets. Instead they study developing intelligent life forms. Rose Quartz is assigned to Earth with her her small group of gems. Yet upon returning from Home World for a delegation meeting, Garnet finds herself bringing home more then she wanted. Au where Ruby and Sapphire are Garnet's babies.
1. First Awakening

**Home World never needed kindergartens, so they never needed to invade other planets. Instead they study developing intelligent life forms. Rose Quartz is assigned to Earth with her her small group of gems. Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst. Yet upon returning from Home World for a delegation meeting, Garnet finds herself bringing home more then she wanted.**

 **Au in which Ruby and Sapphire are Garnet's babies. I totally love them as a couple, but this idea has taken hold of my life! One shot stories.**

* * *

She squirmed a bit as she came to, scrunching her face up and sniffing. She was confused, so so confused about what was going on. She wiggled her arms up and managed to escape them from their cloth prison that held them to her sides, and while the control was somewhat new to her she already knew something wasn't right...

She could recall, if a bit fuzzily, that she use to move her arms with ease. Through a thick gel like fluid filling the space that incased her, but now she couldn't lift them without struggling, not to mention her case was gone...

Sudden venerability made itself clear and she was quick to curl closer to herself. What had happened, where did the case go? Why was she so warm? Not to say the warmth was uncomfortable, but it was vexing.

She tried to lift her arms higher, only to feel a sharp stabbing in them and her sides. She squealed at the sensation, but froze when it the tiny sound exited her throat.

She had never emitted a sound before... it frightened her.

She began whimpering, squiggling around under the cloth covering her body. The whimpering she emitted got louder and slowly a horrible feeling in her gut added to her painful body.

Why wasn't someone coming to get her? Should someone be doing that? There had been someone before the dome was gone.

Long back before, there was a gentle thrumming off the beings life-force so close it sang in her ears, then to be gone after a scary and violent movement that placed her in an easily moveable position. The being had then started talking to her , holding her dome in their hands tenderly and taking care to not shake her.

The being had been there then.

Of course shortly after she became handheld someTHING else had held her, that was rough and mean. She had been petrified when the other had been so cruel to her and her dome. Which had all concluded when the other had drop her dome to the ground and she had known the dome had broken. Soon the kind being returned to her after the other had been removed , never to grasp her dome again. The kind being had been sad and held her constantly, rubbing the dome and singing to her...

Where was the kind being now?

She emitted another cry as she twitched and snivelled under the cloth. Her noise echoed around the empty room until a very LOUD noise came.

VUUUUUUUURRRRRR.

She froze and attempted to stifle her cries but couldn't stop the sobs and hiccups the broke free. A pair of loud footprints made their way closer and she had a harder time stopping her whimpers, scared of who this new being could be.

At first there was nothing and she feared the creature would be the cruel one returning, until two hands, two scarily large hands, came down beside her.

A thumb pad the size of her face wiped her cheek lightly, while the other hand cupped her entire body on one side. All she could do was wail loudly, when the being finally spoke.

"Shhh, Shh, my lovely, your alright..." The thumb pad caressed her cheek once more. "Its ok my sweet, mummy's here..."

She was quick to turn her face to the comfort being provided. It was the kind one! It kept holding her, speaking softly until she settled her weeping, stroking her face and offering protection. When it pulled its thumb away she was quick to protest, but she could only lifted her arms slightly off her side. She whined as loudly as she could, but judging from the strength of the beings voice, she was barely over a regular volume.

The being above her hummed in a worried fashion. Yet quickly cupped her with both hands and lifted her out of the soft bed. The cool air that surrounded her cause her to squeak, and she decided then and there that she hated the cold.

"Shh sweetie, its alright." The being said, shifting her to one hand. As she was gently rolled over she felt her body contact something hard and smooth. Warmth emanated from it, along with the familiar thrum that sang in her ears form so long ago.

The being straightened something before positioning her atop the same cloth she had once slept beneath. As she was settle back down and the other being went to pull her arm up, feeling along the flesh and bone with her finger. The gentle tests were repeated with her other limbs before she grew tired of the pulling and prodding. She huffed as loud as she could, trying to weakly tug her leg back to her curled position. She heard the being chuckle before it relented, allowing her to pull it back.

"Your a determined one, aren't you." The being sighed fondly, stoking her hair with her thumb once more.

She tried to ignore the being's kind gesture after annoying her so, but chose to forgive her after a few moment, deciding she wanted the being to continue. She leaned her head into the strokes, causing the other to chuckle again.

A finger tip wiped at her eyes, causing one of them to open and the feeling was painful, making her chirp out. However the figure over her froze, quick to pull its finger away. "What in the..!?"

VUUUUUUUURRRR

She flinched at the loud noise that echoed the room once more, and she nuzzled into the closest hand before releasing a pitiful cry.

"Shh, no, no, shh, its alright my sweet, your ok..." The being was quick to assure her once more, rubbing her hair as she did so.

"Im sorry Garnet, Im not intruding am I?"

She froze as a new voice filled the room. Tentatively she sniffed the air, but only came up with the warm ,spicy smell of the kind being.

"No its fine, I was just about to get you." The being said to the intruder, removing its hand and causing the stroking to stop, much to her displeasure.

"Oh?" Footprints made their way to her bed side. "Aww, Garnet she's beautiful."

"I was afraid I wouldn't get to see her..." The being said softly, hands returning to stroke her once more. "What with her geode...-" The being stiffened a bit at the memory "C-cracking and all."

There was silence until the intruder came a tad closer. "Garnet, I am so sorry about that. I shouldn't have let any humans in the temple, especially with geodes under incubation."

"Its not your fault Rose." The being... Garnet?... Mummy?... spoke. "No body knew her geode was gone until Greg saw him with it..."

There was a somber feeling in the air, and she didn't like it. She whimpered, catching her mothers attention once more.

"Thats in the past now though..." Garnet said, cupping her with one hand again. "We need to focus on the now... Like why she's so weak..."

A new hand touched her, causing her to shiver under it. A sweet, swirling smell came to her ,causing her to cry out.

She didn't know this being touching her, she didn't know them at all!

Her mother was once more on the ball, settling her and speaking kind, soft words. "Now, now. This is Rose, she won't hurt you, your ok, its ok..."

Rose...eh... -pulled back her hand. "She is weaker than usual. She also much warmer than usual, but she could have just inherited your heat abilities. Not that Im ruling out a fever just yet.."

"I already looked for any abnormalities in her limbs and body. Everything is where it should be." Garnet said.

Rose hummed, thoughtful. "When her geode broke, it could have introduced infection..."

"I-infection..." Garnet muttered horrified. "What will we do if it did?"

"There isn't much we can do, she'll have to poof herself to dispel the infection, but you and I know that the likelihood of one so young returning back to form after a proofing isn't a good one." Rose said softly.

"I-..." Garnet swallowed tightly. "Rose I can't... I can't loose her after all of this..."

"Keep positive for now." Rose said "Thats all we can do for her."

Garnet paused her ministrations, uneasy. She squirmed a bit under her mother's now unmoving hands, but Garnet didn't start up again.

"I was stroking her face, and one of her eyes pulled open." He mother shivered. "They're suppose to be sealed shut, aren't they?"

Rose's hand returned, making her nervous. It reached her face tentatively, before stroking a finger upward.

A bright white light made itself known along with a burning!

She shrieked shrilly and the hand pulled back.

"ROSE! WHAT THE HEL-"

"Garnet."

There was a pause.

"...Im sorry Rose."

"No its fine." Rose said, leaning over her bed once more, making her curl in on herself. "This however is not a good sign. The eyes on a gemling are not fully developed and are supposed to be shut tight , no amount of tugging of pulling should open them before they're ready." Rose sighed slightly. "The infection could have gotten in there. No telling what will happen if it did. Once she poofs herself when the infection become too much, we'll know for sure if any damage done is permanent."

There was a pregnant pause.

She still had her face scrunched up from the pain in her eyes. She was about to wail again before she was scooped up in her mother's hands. Garnet murmured a soft apology to her pressing a kiss to her face. Her mother then just held the baby to her cheek.

"...Everything will be alright Garnet." Rose spoke. "Till we know whats going on though, you should keep her away from her sister."

Garnet sighed, pulling her baby away once more. "I have to go check on her... Pearl is watching her in her room... She might be hungry." Garnet began to tickle the gemling on the stomach. "What about you Ruby? Are you hungry?" She asked with sad, playful tone.

Ruby squirmed against her mother's gem embedded palms, grumbling slightly.

"Ill take that as a no for now, but I'll be back later." Was said before Ruby found herself back in bed. She wiggled weakly until Garnet tucked the cloth over her lightly. "I just need to check on your sister Sapphire, ok."

Ruby snuffled as she tested the strength of her blanket. It was too tight to get her arms loose again. She stilled when her mother stroked her hair one final time before standing away.

"I'll keep you updated if her heath takes a turn Rose." Garnet said. "Thank you for letting me borrow Stevens carrier and bassinet."

"Well he's not exactly using it right now, is he?" Rose chuckled. "Lets take the scenic route to Pearls room so the door doesn't frighten Ruby again."

There was the padding of footprints and their voices grew farther and farther away. Ruby squirmed against her blanket again, scowling when she couldn't loosen the tucked in edges at all. She huffed in annoyance before she settled.

At least she knew she wasn't on her own... She did still miss her comforting, protective dome, but the warm feeling of her mothers hands more than made up for it.

She felt her body grow heavy, and sleep creep up slowly upon her. Ruby squirmed in a more comfortable position before sighing, falling asleep on the first day of her life.


	2. First Feeding

**Yoh guys! So there is an illusion to Breastfeeding in this chapter.I personally have no issue with breastfeeding and also don't see breast as even sexual. I personally think breast are about as sexual an organ as the mouth. Both are used during sex, but really if either of them had to be a sexual organ, I'd go mouth first, you use it more during the coitus, leading up to, and after.**

 **I however do understand that some people have different opinions and understand why this could make uncomfortable reading material for some. So far as it is this is the only one I have planned, it's non-sexual and it's not directly referenced. Feel free to either ignore it and scuttle on through to the others (You won't miss anything plot wise really.) Or choose to read it as Garnet's using a bottle.**

* * *

Ruby started when two hands enclosed around her, rousing her from her deep slumber. She snuffled and twitched frightfully, before her mother's familiar scent filled her being.

"Hello lovey, Im back." Garnet said softly. She shifted the young from her bed and held her close to her body. "How are you after your nap?"

Ruby shifted in her mothers hands. She flinched when a strange ,painful feeling echoed from her midsection, but could only gurgle in an effort to convay it to her caretaker.

"I just got back from checking on your sister... I can't wait for you to meet her, Ruby." Garnet said softly, stroking her baby's head softly. Ruby felt her mother's happy demeanour deflate slightly. "I hope you get a chance to..." She uttered under her breath.

Ruby huffed when the feeling returned, stronger than the first painful prod. She scrunched up her face at the sensation, and lifted her fists up slightly, though they were barely up. Her tiny gemmed hand knocked up against Garnet's finger tip as her mother held it still before her. Ruby hit it a few times, dumbfounded on what she was supposed to do with it, but managed to open her fist to grasp it. She heard her mother chuckle.

"My, my, what a strong grip you have." Garnet slowly moved her finger up and down, shaking Rubys hand gently as it clung to her finger tip. "Any chance you'll let me go? I dunno if Im strong enough to break this hold."

Ruby was actually enjoying this little exchange, though she barley understood what was going on. However the fun times would have to wait... The pain came again, making her insides rumbled to her, scaring her and causing her to cry out in pain and fright.

"Mwah!Mwah!" She managed to quiet the volume, releasing her mother's finger in the process to curl in on herself slightly.

"Wha-!? Oh! Of Course." Garnet was quick to shift the gemling to cradle her in one hand. "Oh baby, your just hungry, sweets." She began to adjust Ruby in her palm, unballing her from her tucked position. "Its ok, its natural for it to hurt for now, but we'll set up a schedule so you don't have to feel like this ever again."

Ruby shivered when her mother finally had her laying flat in her hand. There was a strange tinkling noise until she was pulled closer to her mother, and something met the side of her face. Ruby flinched, unsure of what was expected of her.

"S'ok baby." Garnet assured her, pulling Ruby closer and making the object more prominent. Ruby whimpered to her mother, confused and in pain... until the object rubbed against her cheek. Inexplicably Ruby found her body moving without her command until she was face to face with it. A few more prods were all it took for her to open her mouth.

And then it was in.

Ruby was still confused and in pain, only now she had some strange thing in her mouth. She wriggled in her mother's grasp, trying to get it away, but it proved futile. She cried out around it a bit.

"S'okay baby." Garnet said again. "Just follow your instinct. We can take as much time as you need until you get it."

Ruby sniffled, unhappy with the current predicament, when the pain made her shake again as her empty tummy rumbled. She bit down a bit on the object in her mouth, causing something to come out.

It was warm and sweet and while Ruby only got a drop or two in her system, she was already hooked. She wanted more but when she tried to get some it would only trickled out. She scowled a bit, as it got harder to even get a measly sample.

After a few more different attempts to release the sweet mixture with little success, she was about to give up. She was grumpy and sore, not to mention her jaw was aching from the position it was in. She wriggled again, trying get loose, but her mother held a bit tighter.

"Baby I know its difficult to understand but this is important." Garnet said softly. "Don't give up yet, keep trying. Please, I don't want you hurting inside."

Ruby struggled a bit more as a few stray tears found they're way down her cheeks, all of which her mother was quick to catch and brush away. Ruby cried out sadly, she didn't understand, she knew the being was kind! Why was it doing this?!

Then, finally, she shifted her tongue, squeezed, and was greeted with a torrent of warm milk.

Too much for the unsuspecting gemling maybe.

While Ruby didn't need to breath, that didn't mean the tubes and organs weren't there to do so, just in case extra oxygen was required during strenuous events. So used or not, a few drops wormed they're way in, leaving her coughing and gagging, with rest of the milk either down Ruby's throat or on her outfit.

Garnet said nothing as she shifted her young to her shoulder, softly but firmly patting the tiny being's back to help her airways clear. Once done she was put back down to the same place. The milk ready to be collected.

"Try again, love." Garnet said warmly. "Try again. You can do it."

Ruby was a bit conflicted. While the entire experience she had just endured was horrible to say the least, she found the milk that had made it to its desired destination was calming the throbbing pain her her belly.

As her mother nuzzled the side of her face with the teat again, urging her to make the attempt, Ruby sighed and then gave in.

She turned and allowed the occupation of her moth once more, earning her a warm praise from her mother. Then, after a bit of fiddling and prepping, she repeated the motion. Milk flooded her mouth and Ruby had the understanding this time around to swallow it. Though it was still a bit much for her mouth to take at once, as a small amount dribbled out the corners of her mouth.

The results were amazing. Warmth from the milked filled her body and silenced the rumbles from her stomach. The pain dissipated for the most part and the sweet tasted filled her mouth, even with the substance gone. She suckled again, this time managing not to slop on herself. As she slowly began to drink more easily her mother smiled.

"Thats it, thats it! Oh baby you've got it!" Garnet said happily. "Your doing so well, sweet."

Ruby kicked her legs a bit, finally enjoying the feeding. It wasn't so hard once you got the basics. Only all too soon it was over, or she was pulled away maybe the better explanation. Ruby whined as she was pulled back, upset it was over when she had just started to get the hang of it.

"I know baby, but your tummy's so lil' right now I need to stop you before your have to throw it all up." Garnet explained softly, brining Ruby to her shoulder again. She whimpered as her mother patted her on the back until she released hiccup like burp.

Garnet held Ruby in her hands once more, watching her pout a bit over the end of her feeding. She could help but chuckle at the adorable expression. "Oh Baby, were gong to have to do it again before even three hours are up, as quickly as you fill up, you empty in the same amount of time." She stroked her baby's face before she spotted the wet onesie that had been slopped on during the first time feeding. "Looks like you need a change of wardrobe, sweet."

Garnet gently took Ruby's tiny gemmed hand between her finger, focusing her energy into Ruby's body. The baby stilled before her outfit changed in a soft flash of light, from her burgundy onesie to a black one. Her mother, satisfied with the simple garments, set the hand down.

"There, all done." She pulled Ruby close again, kissing her face and the hands that raised up to greet her. "Such fast learners I have. Looks likes your the whole package , eh Ruby?"

Ruby mumbled as she nuzzled against Garnet's cheek. She was very happy with the turn of things. She was full with warm milk and cozily snuggled into her caretaker's embrace. Defiantly a good day. Only now she felt awfully tired, despite the fact that she had been woken up only half an hour ago.

Well her nap was interrupted...

As Garnet stroked her baby's hair, Ruby wiggled closer, sighing softly as she felt herself drifting off. She was already asleep when Garnet returned her to the bassinet, who hummed as she tucked the small gemling amongst the soft cloth. She stayed hunched over the floor level bassinet, admiring her handy work before she stood up. She turned to exit the room quietly, slipping out to another room in the temple.

As she slept, Ruby shivered, coughing for a moment before she settled into an uneasy slumber.


	3. Will You Love Them?

It had been so long ago Garnet had... 'unexpectedly' become pregnant. Since that day she hadn't had a mental moment of rest. Some of the earliest questions she had wrung her hands over were the likes of -

'Was she ready to be a mother? How Could she take care of them? How many would there be?'...

But the most important question she had to ask herself first was... Did she even want them?

She had felt horrible when that thought had crossed her mind, but the uncomfortably fast 'I don't think so.' that he mind responded with made her feel worse. Rose was a constant, emotional crutch in the beginning. When Garnet had admitted to these ideas in a privet conversation in her leaders room, Rose was quick to correct her.

"Garnet, its OK if you don't want these gemlings. What happened wasn't your fault, and your not expected to take responsibility for the end results." Rose set her hand on the younger's shoulder. "There are plenty of other communes that would be happy to take them once they're lain. No one will think less of you."

"I-its just, I feel horrible about not wanting them." Garnet sighed as she removed her glasses, her eyes were heavily bagged and she looked miserable. "I should, Im their mother. If I don't want them, then what will that tell them?"

"That you want them to have a good life and to do that, you had to send them away." Rose said as she looked sadly back. "What if you keep them but don't even like them? Will they be happy with you begrudgingly taking care of them? Would you just do the bare minimum and shuffle them off when their going to 'get by'? Or will you LOVE them Garnet?"

Garnet spluttered for a moment. 'I-I don't HATE them! I just- Its just... It just hard Rose..." Garnet felt her chin quiver as she let a few tears streak down her face. "Im scared Rose, Im scared that every time I look at them, Ill just... remember... I don't want to constantly be reminded of THAT for the rest of my life."

Rose pulled the younger closer to her, rubbing her back as Garnet shuttered again the bigger frame, more tears slipping out. "Shh, Garnet. I know you don't. Its not in your nature to hate."

"They're just innocent in this Rose... They never asked to be born like this. I never asked for this. Its not fair..." Garnet sobbed, pushing closer to the pink women before her.

"I know." Rose agreed, holding her tighter.

The two stood in silence for a few moments. Rose rocked Garnet back and forth gently, letting her sob silently into her shoulder. A few minutes passed and Garnet managed to quiet herself, nuzzling deeper into Rose's hair.

"You can't control how you feel Garnet." Rose said finally, still holding the other. "And while feeling are know to change you have to understand that this is a big issue. You still have a long time to decided what you want. We can keep them, or you can send them to another planetary commune, or put them up for adoption on homeworld, or theres also the PMTP... I don't really agree with their idea of training Gems from hatching to fight in the military, but it would ensure them a job and education... You have plenty of options and time, but only you can choose."

Garnet swallowed as she huddled closer. "Which would you choose Rose?"

"Id have to talk to Greg about it, but I think I'd keep them, if only because Im so well train in taking care of infants and to give Steven some siblings." Rose looked at her. "But don't let that sway you Garnet. Im not you and I don't want you to do what you think will make everyone feel good. The thing that matters now is your happiness, and their happiness. Just remember that, ok?"

Garnet shrugged with a frown on her face, but nodded none the less.

Rose hummed before she placed a hand Garnet shoulder. "Have you, have you check your future vision?"

"I- have... it only looks so far into the future and there are so many possibilities. If I send them away it only gets to the point where they're hatched on another planet, and I either forget about it and move on with my life, or wonder everyday if I did the right thing... " Garnet swallowed. "Then there is the possibilities they may never hatch, or their geodes brake before they have a chance..." Garnet shivered. "It hurts to see those."

"Well, just try and relax for now. It not good for any of you to be stressing over this." Rose said. "Go and take a nap for a bit. It will help clear your thoughts.

"...Alright." Garnet shrugged. "I supose it couldn't hurt."

Rose watched as Garnet left through the door, head back to the burning room. She hugged herself sadly once the younger gem was out of sight. "Oh Garnet, I wish I could have prevented this. I should have known never to take you to such a place..."

Garnet meanwhile entered the doorway to her room, slipping past the bubbled gems to rest against the wall. She squeezed her eyes shut and shuttered sadly at the weight of the situation. She peered wearily down at her abdomen, shifting her fingers over the tiny bump growing slowly inside of her. She could only feel one, but Gems always had litters of two to (depending on size) five or fifteen. Garnet was on the larger side, so she could have fourteen other little bumps hidden inside her. Or maybe even more, if the fates proved cruel.

Right now they were the size of a dice cube. As she gently ran her finger over the only protruding bump it shifted... There most likely wasn't even life in it yet, just a tiny group of cell in a small case. Yet Garnet could help the smile the dawned her face.

Would they look like her? Would they help show her what they're sire looked like? What kind of gems could they be?

With another tired sigh Garnet lay back. She shut her eyes and shuttered, when a vision suddenly came to her.

 **'It was so far into the future it was blurry. Yet she could make out her hands fiddling around in a soft looking bed with some blankets. Something inside squirmed, barely able to lift its arms in the air and cried out frightfully.**

 **"Shh, baby. Its ok." Garnet felt herself speak. Blurry hands reached to the wriggling figure, and pulled it between her hands. The helpless creature stopped its cries and turned to one of her gems, snuggling close to it and cooing. Garnet felt herself chuckle. "Ah you trust me so much." She lifted the figure out and Garnet couldn't make out a single defining feature, or even a colour. "You are a cutie aren't you?"**

 **The baby whimpered softly and nuzzled closer, sniffing tentatively at the air before relaxing. Eventually it fell asleep in her palm, making Garnet smile even larger than before. "Oh baby, your too cute for your own good. I love you so much..."'**

Garnet jumped as the vision left her and her hands found her abdomen again, rubbing the bump silently.

When Amethyst was a gemling, she hadn't had a chance to see much of her. She was busy taking over hunting down corrupt gems while Rose was tending to the infant. Even when she was home, Rose kept Amethyst in her room, safe and sound. Rose refused to let the other near her, a protective glint in her eyes.. So no matter how much pearl offered to help, Rose shut her down with a kind, but very firm no.

She had no idea they were so small and helpless. Unable to even open their eyes. Lifting their arms was a difficult chore. Only able to weep and cry out to others for help.

No wonder Rose had been so guarded when it came to Amethyst when she was an infant. Garnet wouldn't have wanted to chance anyone hurting her in such a state either. All Garnet could think was she was glad she never was gemling.

Yet then her babies would one day be just as helpless...

Suddenly the idea of sending them away, even to be cared for by someone else, made Garnet sick.

Rose had told her that gemlings depended upon scent and sound to navigate their world, even if it was just to understand when to panic or not. They knew their mother by recognizing the voice that spoke to them in their geodes but mostly by the scent they shared with her. While it was possible to get gemling comfortable with a replacement, it was tedious and difficult. Most of the time they would unwillingly accept the substitutes help while still crying out in hopes that their real mother would return to them.

Garnet recalled the horrible two months of crying it took for Amethyst to give up on her mother returning for her, then the just as gut wrenching two moths of silence and quiet sobs during her depressed state that followed.

Rose had explained to her worried friends that Amythyst was saddened by her abandonment. Refusing to alert her caretaker to her hunger pains or other discomforts in her lack luster state.

"Is she trying to kill herself?" Pearl asked, shocked.

"No, I doubt she understands whats shes doing besides thinking she did something wrong. Gemling usually do this as they fear their current caretaker will abandon them as well, she's trying to not cause trouble for me so I'll keep her... Love her. Its all just an unfortunate part of the adoption process. She'll settles once she realizes Im here to stay."

What was really bothering Garnet about these memories currently was just what Rose had said... It was an unfortunate part. It wasn't the possibility that her children could react like that should she give them up. It was going to happen, no matter what. Time amounts could very for how long they would cry for her, but the thought that they would suffer like that at all left Garnet guilty.

Garnet shifted her hand over the bump once more, holding it against her palm. Her gem thrummed against the still developing geode, almost whispering to it softly. Garnet looked down at it wistfully.

Maybe she could care for her babies...Or, at least try...


	4. I Dreamed A Dream

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When Sapphire had first entered the world, she had been prepared.

When she had been resting in her shell peacefully, she would dream of what the outside world could be like. It gave her options of what could be, and while she couldn't understand all of it, she could follow the basics. She saw the gems that cared for her coming and going, touching her dome softly and speaking to her, she also saw they doing the same to a similar dome next to her's. She saw them sometimes fighting amongst each other on occasion, or just enjoying each other company.

Sapphire couldn't wait to join them, she wanted to be out whenever she dreamt them smiling when they first saw her, or holding her close, or feeding her. She wanted to be with them.

Yet there were some dreams that made Sapphire nervous. Her mother was ,in some dreams, very doting, but in others, she was distant and uninterested in her. In some dreams she hatched, but other geode beside her remained still, empty of it own inhabitant. This would cause the others to be sad, to cause her mother to cry. Sometimes she herself died before she could hatch, by either breaking or some other unfortunate incident.

Luckily though, she had more good dreams than bad. Sapphire chose to take it as a good sign of things to come. If she had more good dreams, more good things would happen, right?

Of course many things she had seen dreamt had come true, as far as she could tell from her geode. The little things were easy. Like knowing what song her mother would sing to them that day .

Yet some bad things had also come true. She had seen other, unknown beings tour through their home before, always supervised. Yet one had managed to slip through the crack and take her sister away. Sapphire had dreams this happening a week before, and while she wished there was some way to warn her mother, there was nothing she could do. A week came and went and her sister was stolen, just as predicted. She was returned later that day, but hurt. Her dome crack and her mother weeping.

Sapphire felt guilty. Yet her dream still showed the chance of her hatching as well, though perhaps not a healthy as she could have been.

Yes Sapphire had dreamt many things about the outside world, and after her proper incubation period, was finally, finally!, ready to hatch. Yet she suddenly found herself nervous. Would her mother want her, or want nothing to do with her? She wasn't sure if she was ready to find out.

Not that there was a choice. The dome was now too small, and Sapphire was tightly pact. It was starting to be painful, and hurt her back and legs.

It was time.

With that in mind Sapphire pushed against the shell, and even though she was a healthy baby, it was still difficult. After heaving and pushing she had only managed a tiny crack. She paused to collect strength again.

There was an excited noise outside that caught Sapphire's attention, that was quick to turn and run out the door. It had sounded like an aunt of hers, most likely seeing her geode starting to shake and had run to get her mother.

Sapphire shifted nervously before pushing again. The geode splintered more, and as she worked at her feverishly slow pace, the adults had all entered the room to gather around her. She was nervous to be the centre of attention, but before she could wallowing in indecision the geode chose for her. There was just enough damage to cause the shell to fall out behind her.

She tumbled into the world backward, landing on the nest of blankets that had kept her geode safe and warm. She was quick to pick on the cool change of temperature compared to the inside of her egg, and as she lay on the soft bedding, collecting herself, she shuttered.

She was gooey form the egg inners, and her long hair stuck to her body wetly. Her eyes were sealed tightly shut and she couldn't smell anything with the mess of fluids over her. There was a few seconds of nothing, and Sapphire felt her heart drop.

Her mother didn't want her...

Sapphire whimpered softly, she should have stayed in her shell! She began to cry as seconds moved by, big tears starting to leak from her eyes when a hand scooped her up, shaky and uncertain.

"S-shh baby, its ok."

Sapphire sagged in relief as her mother pulled her closer to inspect her. A thumb wiped off her face, clearing the goo from her nose so she could smell. "There, there. Im here now, its ok."

Yes it was defiantly ok.

* * *

Short one today, but don't worry! The next few will be longer!

My Tumblr for some cute Birthstone Pictures! (Search Birthstones Au as well) ~

Celestite, you'll find the answers to your question here. :D


	5. Nesting

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Garnet was not a happy gem.

She had been stressed and angry most of the week, what after one of her geodes was wounded. Rose had confined her to the temple while the- the BEAST that had harmed her child was put through a human court system.

Bastard only got five years. Why? Well because the judge was a backwards, imbred human cow!

...Well, it was really because no laws had been placed on gems. They were relatively new to human culture as a whole, so they apparently were not labelled as people, but since they proved the ability to feel pain, were placed as animals.

Rose was quickly trying to reverse that as of now.

Apparently though, the lawyer Rose had hired to present their case was quite determined to win for them despite this, he was new to the trade and was quiet happy to be hired at all, but Garnet had been passing by their meeting when he had stated that if they couldn't get animal abuse on the accused, they could get theft of property.

Rose had seen Garnet coming before the lawyer had, and was quick to make up an excuse to drag Garnet from the room before he did.

"Garnet!" Rose said sternly, pulling said gem into a side temple room. "Calm down, he's here to help!"

"Theft of property! Theft of Jankin', Peroperty! My baby could be DEAD and he wants to charge theft of property!?" Garnet roared, she snarled before brandishing her gauntlets. "Just let me go to the blasted trial! I'll give that murder THEFT OF PROPERTY! Im taking his damed ARMS! An eye for an eye!"

"Garnet." Rose frowned, still holding the other around the middle. "You can't do that."

"I can." Garnet snarled through clenched teeth, but dispersed her weapons anyway.

"I mean you shouldn't." Rose sighed, but sensing Garnet had stop struggling, she set her down. "Listen to me. Attacking that man will do nothing to solve what has been done."

"Make me feel better." Garnet ground out angrily. "Make sure he never did it again."

"It would cause an interstellar incident, Garnet-"

"Isn't it already?!" Garnet asked, frowning. "Sounds like it should be!"

Rose paused, rubbing her arm warily. "I know... I know it should be Garnet, but the humans are such a young race. If it wasn't for us, other planets would have came along and wiped out this planet a long time ago. They're still vulnerable. If this incident caused us to be moved out... but I know you don't feel like helping them right now, after what happened, and your just in thinking like that but-"

"This doesn't have a thing to do with the rest of them Rose, just one. I just want one!" Garnet exclaimed, turning away from her leader. "Why is that so hard?!"

"Because it never ends with just one." Rose said. "They know that better than anyone. If it happens once it could happen again. They'll come down hard, and not just the humans. Home world doesn't approve of messing with foreign affairs, they'll hang you out to dry, but if you can just wait, they'll be on your side."

"Why are you always on the human's side Rose?" Garnet shuttered, wrapping her arms around herself. "You know what can happen, you know whats been lost. "

Rose said nothing. There was a few moments of silence before Rose approached her from behind, wrapping the red gem in her arms.

"...I keep on letting you down don't I...?" Rose whispered. Garnet steeled under her hold as a few stray tears dripped into her hair. "I couldn't prevent this from begining, I couldn't stop him and now... I won't even fight loyally for you, like have for me..."

"Rose." Garnet lifted a hand to the arms encased around her shoulders. "There was nothing you could have done for us... If anyone should have known before hand, its me." Garnet shivered to help hold back emotion. "You been doing enough, but I've just been to emotional to see it... I suppose I just wanted to be angry."

"You have the right to be angry Garnet, but if you have to be angry with someone, be angry with me." Rose said heavily. "Not a desperate human who took your baby, not knowing what it was. "

Garnet hung in Rose's embrace for a few more moments before sighing. "Im going to go check on them."

"You do that, Garnet." Rose agreed, pulling back. Watching the other tread off before returning to the confused human in her room.

Garnet pushed open the door of the burning room, wondering to a nest of blankets and pillows that took up a small alcove. She slipped under an over hanging to settle near the two small geodes. She swept up the closet to inspect it.

The small geode was bumpy and light brown clump, resembling a rough stone. Imbedded in sparse quantities were light blue stones, often showing what kind of baby gem was hidden inside. They sparkled in the light of the far off magma pool,contrasting against the hard and unsightly dirt brown that dominated them in surface area.

When Garnet had first seen the blue crystals of her baby, she had been disturbed. She couldn't help but wonder if their sire was that colour...

Of course it could very well be a recessive gene in either parent's DNA really. Just because Garnet wasn't blue didn't mean the sire was, it could be a great grandmother for anyone knew.

The blue no longer bothered her now, in fact it intrigued her. Could she be a Lapis Lazuli? Maybe a Zircon? Well Garnet didn't have to wait aground to find out, she could look into the future, but that seemed a bit unfair. The baby would tell her mother when she was ready.

Garnet felt a shifting under the shell, making her smile. She was big now, much bigger than she had been. There wasn't any room left to move in there so she'd have to break out soon. Garnet rubbed the shell again with a chuckle.

"You can't stay in there forever you know." Garnet said, feeling the shifting stop when she spoke. "You'll have to come out, sooner than later."

As she fell silent the shifting began again, the baby missing the sound of her mothers voice perhaps, or she was looking for a cranny she had forgotten to take up.

Garnet set her back down before tuning to the other. Her smile fell and she looked down at the other geode, where she lay sheltered and kept warm by a vein from the crystal heart. Garnet reach under her, tenderly, and lifted her with great care until she could inspect her closely.

It had a rock look about her, like her sister, but was covered in bright red gems. Garnet herself was red looking in the right light, so she supposed it came from her side of the family. One of her halves had been bore from a Ruby ,the other sired from a Blood Stone, so it could be either. That or a red gem from her sire's side, but Garnet wasn't about to toil with those thoughts again. Not when she had a bigger problem to face.

She turned the geode over slowly, shifting her hands until she was facing it dead on.

A spider web of cracks and unsightly crevices bloomed from the place of impact. The edges tainted with the red fluid that had slipped out from within, the crystals in the area of damage were dull and listless. Some, to Garnet's worry, were beginning to grey in colour. A sign the gemling was in danger of dying.

Or already dead.

Garnet ran her nervous fingertips like butterfly kisses over the shell. Really the baby could have died on impact if she was in just the right position. Or if she ran out of the nurturing goo before she was ready because too much slipped out.

The cracks had been sealed by Rose's healing tears as soon as the pink gem was able, yet while shell would hold firm, even if slightly more fragile than before, it didn't do anything for the baby. She could still hatch, but Garnet was afraid to see how likely that was. She had already seen the chances of having two healthy babies plummet, she was to cowardice to look more.

Garnet lay her palm down on the undamaged area, noting that the baby felt cooler than the other. Perhaps the crack made it harder for her to conserve heat as well... Just another thing to worry about.

Looking around Garnet spotted an extra blanket and brought it to her side. She set the geode safely in her lap and unfolded the blanket, pausing to smile at the Cookie Cat Logo smiling back.

Steven was such a sweetheart.

Month back, before her pregnancy was obvious, her instincts had kicked in and she had gone on a nest making rampage. She took most of the blankets in the house while the other gems were out on a mission. Steven had watched her collect them from the couch, not stopping her from ripping them off his bed or from pulling even the tiniest hand towel from the linen closet.

Yet while Steven liked to be cozy, he was only one little boy, and with Pearl doing laundry constantly, there was no need for more than two sets of bed sheets and a few towels in the whole house.

Garnet had put her hoard in her room, then returned to Steven's home and headed straight for the front door. Steven followed after, waiting until she was a few steps down to pounce on top of her head.

"Hey Garnet, Wha'cha doo'in?" Steven asked playfully, looking down into her shades.

Garnet hadn't been completely herself in that moment, but she manged to mumble out something with the words 'need more blankets...' mixed in, but Steven made up the rest.

"Ohhh! Is this for a mission?! Its for a mission isn't it!" He exclaimed, his eyes getting starry. "Can I help?!"

Garnet gave an inattentive grunt, but Steven seemed to understand she was too focused to pay him a much attention as she usually did.

"Ok then ,to the Opp Shop!" He exclaimed, pointing out his arm like a captain of a sea vessel, laughing as she changed direction to where he was suggesting.

Garnet hadn't the foggiest where she was going to get more soft linens, so she was thankful for any push in the right direction. They arrived at the local used store, New 2 You, and headed for the door.

"I wonder what you need blankets for.." Steven mumbled more to himself than anything. "Could it be... your repainting? Dad put down old sheets to keep paint off the floors when we did my room." Steven sat up on Garnet's head, humming thoughtfully. " Or is it to make a huge net to catch a whole bunch of monsters in? Oh, I know its t-OFFUGH!"

In his rambling state, Steven had failed to see the doorway to the store was too short for him while on Garnet's head. Garnet herself barley slipped through. Steven slid off, tumbling to a door mat on the ground. After a few moments he stood, scratching his head.

"Im ok!"

Garnet didn't spare him a glace.

While normally Garnet was almost like another mother to Steven, in this state she was a bit single minded. It happened to all dame gems at one point or another, even if they had older gemling to care for while they were it went to the sire to care for the older children while the next brood was growing.

Currently Steven's father and mother were both working, but he was more than able to care for himself while Garnet wondered around in a daze of instincts and hormones. He did seem a bit hurt Garnet hadn't even check on him, but her hurried after her.

They walked past the book section side by side. "This mission must be really important huh...?" Steven asked. When Garnet grumbled in response he nodded to himself. "And top secret, I get it." Steven picked up Garnet's hand and lead her to the back of the store. "Well then..."

Steven paused before a large section of gently used linens, gesturing for effect. "-Take Blankets to your hearts content!"

And she had. Garnet gather blankets until she took at least a third of them home with her. Steven had pulled out a vast amount of quarters in the check out line as Garnet jittered impatiently. The cashier, an elder man, looked from the five shopping cart, to the handfuls upon handfuls of loose and dirty change, to the giant, agitated, muscled women before him before taking the uncounted quarters as payment enough.

They even got the carts to carry it all home with, so long as Steven returned them. Upon coming home to the temple they found the others had finished their mission. Pearl was inspecting the bare bed when she called out to them upon they're entrance.

"Steven? Where are all your bed sheets? There aren't any in the cupboard. Did you do laundry without me?" She asked, looking under the bed as if they were hidden beneath.

"Nope, Garnet wanted them, so she took them, and we just got more." Steven answered as he set down his small pile. Garnet carried a cart in each hand behind him.

"Garnet wanted them?" Pearl started as she began down the stairs, freezing when she caught sight of them. "I-I mean..." She stuttered. "She doesn't need yours with all those new blankets..." Pearl shuffled down the rest of the steps. "Ah Garnet, I know you need those... for reasons...-"

"Secret Reasons!" Steven agreed.

"Yes, ah.." Pearl said, pulling Steven to her side. "Um, but do you need Steven's? Why don't you return Steven's blank-"

"I NEED THESE." Garnet snarled, causing the others to jump. Garnet growled a bit as she roughly dragged the carts into her room, through the temple doors.

As Garnet worked feverishly, she caught glimpses of Rose coming in with the other carts to watch, but thought nothing of it. First she found the perfect spot, not too hot not too cold. Then she sorted through the blankets. Rose had come forward then, helping sort them by softness, and slipping a few of steven's away without her notice. Then she had arranged them to her liking.

She had come back from her hazy adventure to find her nest completed and Rose watching from the entry. She blinked for a few seconds, inspected the finely sculpted bed, then stood uncertainly.

"Uh, Rose?"

"Yes?" She responded, a giggle caught in her throat.

Garnet blushed. "I didn't steal any of these did I?"

Rose threw her head back, laughing heartily while Garnet felt her cheeks darken more, if possible. It took Rose a few attempts to finally stop herself, wiping her eye. "N-erhm! No garnet.. hehe...Erhm No you didn't... Steven took you shopping, apparently."

"Oh.. He did..." Garnet mumbled, blots of memories returning to her. "Is he alright?... I recall him falling off my head in a doorway..."

"A few scrapes and a goose egg." Rose dismissed. "Besides, he was so excited to get to help you with your 'Important Secret Mission.' " Rose's smile grew as she aired quoted. "I think Amethyst had him believing you were building a giant trapeze trampoline out of them, to help you infiltrate a circus, undercover, or a least thats what I heard at breakfast."

Garnet held her face in her hand as Rose chuckled.

"Oh but don't worry, while I got most of his blankets back for him, a few you were quiet dead set on." Rose gestured to a corner of the nest where Steven's Crying Breakfast Friends bedsheets poked out, an apple missing a bite of its head weeped blearily. Garnet added her other hand to hold her face, embarrassed beyond belief.

She didn't even like that show!

"I believe that one is Turmoiled Spoiled Apple..." Rose chuckled,before she jolted a bit. "Oh that reminds me!." Rose turned to pull something up off the floor. "Steven was determined to do his part in the 'mission' so he gave me this, to give to you."

She held up a flannelet blanket of Cookie Cat, his smiling face staring back at them. "This is Steven's favourite blanket, I think he's not expecting it back, so do as you will."

Garnet took the small bedlinen from Rose's hands. She looked at it, smiling softly.

"Think I'll save it for a special reason."

Garnet smiled as she finished wrapping her red gemed geode in the blanket, where it nestled deeply. She contently ran her finger over the surface, humming a slow melody to the baby inside.

There was nothing she could do for her baby but wait and be near.

Until whatever happened ... happened.

* * *

Told you this one was a longer one!

My Tumblr for some cute Birthstone Pictures! (Search Birthstones Au as well) ~


	6. First Born

Garnet stared silently out at the ocean from the front deck, watching the waves swirl and wash ashore in the moonlight. Distant stars echoed dying light from the inky blackness of space, and somewhere beyond them, Homeworld lay.

Garnet adjusted her glasses, antsy with nerves. The geodes Incubation count down was over, and they were just waiting form them to hatch. Garnet had read every holotape Rose could provide her with, and collected as much knowledge about raising gemlings as she could. Yet even with this Garnet was nervous. Neverous about them hatching, nervous about being a mother...

Nervous of what kinds of memories could spark...

And Nervous one of them might not even hatch.

She had been in the burning room for the last week or so, waiting nearby in case one of them began to shake and crack, but also to sooth her nerves that there would be no repeat of the 'incident'.

Rose had stopped taking humans on tours of the temples, but Garnet was still on edge.

She was excited, don't get her wrong. She couldn't wait for her babies to enter this world. It didn't quell her nervousness, but it made her stomach bubble with excitement.

Garnet adjusted her glasses again, watching an airplane silently break across the night sky. She took in an unnecessary breath of the cool ocean breeze, trying to settle herself. She had come out of her hot, stuffy room to try and calm her twitching muscles, not rally herself up again.

She turned to go back to her room, pushing open the screen door and travel through Steven's room. She paused to look up the stairs to the slumbering figure. She could see a small bump under a white comforter, breathing deeply with a slight snore to the end. Really she expected as much, it was close to four in the morning.

VUUUUUURRRR

Steven didn't sturr as the temple door opened, and Garnet turned to find Amethyst jittering around, hoping from foot to foot. The purple gem was about to shout out to her, but bit her tongue at the last moment, looking towards Steven's bed. Instead she quickly ran out, grabbed Garnet by the hands and literally dragged her back into the temple.

"Amethyst, what-"

The Purple Gem gave her an excited, pointed look and sealed the door before squealing.

VUUUUUURRRR

"Garnet!Ohmygod!" Amethyst giggled, hopping up and down. "You have to come, right the heck now!"

"What is it." She mumbled, she just wanted to go check on her geodes.

"Ok so, I was looking for you in your room and I went to your nest but, obviously you weren't there, so I went 'where could she be?' cause I wanted you to help me move some of my piles but then I saw, like right out of the corner of my eye, ah man I couldn't believe it-!"

"Amethyst, just tell me." Garnet frowned.

"On of your geodes is breaking open! Its shaking around and cracking open and everything!"

Garnet blinked.

She blinked again.

"W-which one?"

"Uh, I think the blue one, cause its not all wrapped up like a burrito." Amethyst shrugged, but grinned brightly. "Come on, or do you wanna miss it?! I told Rose on the way out here!"

Garnet was a little shell shocked, but felt Amethyst grab her hand again, hauling her to the nest. Her baby was hatching... It was a little hard to grasp, despite weeks of preparation.

Rose and Pearl were already crowed around the nest, Rose was glowing with excitement while Pearl seemed mildly intrigued.

"Do they all hatch so quickly?" Pearl asked in a whisper.

"Depending." Rose answered, turning when she spotted the other two coming. "Oh Garnet! Come quickly, or you may miss it!"

Garnet was tugged to the front of the crowd, getting a front seat view. Her blue geode was in the middle of the nest, still upright with the way she placed the blankets. It hadn't move since she had come in, but the cracks marking the outside told a different story from what she saw.

Garnet twitched when the egg shifted a little to the right, the crack growing larger.

"Oh this is so exciting!" Rose smiled, whispering to the others as she nodded to it. "It won't be more than a few minutes."

The geode shifted again, this time back a bit, the crack splintered into three, there was more movement and soon they could make out the tiny pushes the young was making against the shell. Then it fell still. They all watched, starry eyes as it sat in place for a few seconds of nervousness...

Then the back fell out.

...

...

She's so tiny.

It was the first thought that crossed garnet's mind when the baby first came into view. The gemling was a mass of white, wild hair and blue skin peeking out from the tresses. At first it shivered, then wriggled a bit, seemingly collecting it bearing.

As the four elders stared, the babe began to whimper. Rose elbowed Garnet gently, causing her to tear her gaze away. "Go." Her leader mouthed to her.

Garnet stared at her ,confused until the whimpering became a small wail. She looked back before realizing she was the one who needed to collect her baby. Stepping into the soft bedding she knelt to the young, cupping one hand to the side of her, shaky and uncertain.

"S-shh baby, its ok."

All crying stop. The baby turned to her hand, almost desperate for the contact, nuzzling into the side of her gem, snivelling. "There, there. Im here now, its ok." Garnet whispered as she carefully removed her from the now empty husk of a geode, collecting the flecks of egg shell off her skin. She hardly felt the weight of the gemling in her hand as she lifted it closer, wiping the egg matter from her face to clear it and move her long white tresses a bit.

She was nude,but that was expected. She had spindly arms and legs, yet the lips the baby bore were just like her mother's. Her long hair was slightly curly and was slicked wet against her. She pulled the baby closer , maneuvering the gemling around in her hand, looking for her gem placement. She was a little too hopeful looking around the midsection and head, but finally found the tiny blue gem in her palm.

"Well?" Rose asked excitedly, the other two sticking close to Rose's side at the edge of the nest.

"A Sapphire." Garnet spoke when she recognized the sparkling, healthy stone her baby was. She heard Pearl gasp in awe as Amethyst let out a sound of amazement.

A very rare stone indeed amongst their kind. Yet the tiny baby began to squirm, unsettled by the new voices in the room a bit. She made a strange keening noise and tried to snuggle closer to her mother's gem.

"Can you two go back to the temple to check on Steven?" Rose spoke over the little noises, looking between the two gems beside her. "You know what an early riser he is and he might be able to sense all the excitement."

"Of course Rose, Come on Amethyst we can start breakfast." Pearl agreed, leading the way to the door. "Maybe we can make some of that Ba-ken you like so much."

"BACON!" Amethyst roared excitedly. Garnet cupped her baby as the infant flinched."I'd do anything for Bacon!" She ran to Pearl's side as she step out the door before growling to her. "ANYTHING."

"Amethyst..." Pearl mumbled rolling her eyes as the door shut.

Once alone Garnet looked back to he young, who had settled her shaking. Rose tiptoed into the nest, taking care not to disrupt the still, red geode that lay wrapped in the corner. She looked into Garnet's hands over her shoulder.

"She so... small." Garnet murmured, stroking the tiny head in her hands. The goo in her hair squished as her thumb stroked through it.

"Yes, they usually are." Rose chuckled as they admired the newborn. "We need to wash her off though, the remains could dry her skin up and give her a rash.

"Oh." Garnet said, looking around her for something to wipe the young down with, but watched Rose moved to retrieve the bowl of water from the side of the room with a cloth.

"I thought to grab these before I came in." Rose explained, setting them down. Both kneeled to the soft bedsheets and Garnet took the cloth handed to her. She sat holding the material in one hand and her genetic material in the other as is wriggled in her palm. She looked to Rose, slightly abashed.

"Uh, how do I..."

"Just wet the cloth and wash it off her, theres really no wrong way to do it. So long as the remains are cleaned off she be fine. Its not like she can drown in the water." Rose smiled. "Im going to check with my message board, you'll be alright her alone?"

Garnet smiled loosely. "Im not really alone am I?"

Rose nodded her head and stood back up. "You know where I am if you need anything." With that she left the new mother alone with her baby, leaving up the steps to her room. Garnet sat watching her exit until her baby gurgled in her hand.

"Alright." Garnet spoke, squeezing out her cloth. "Let give this a try." With that she brought the wet rag to the gemling body. First contact had the baby shiver and jump a bit in her hand, she let out a squeak of fretful surprise.

"Its ok honey," Garnet murmured, dabbing her again and getting a calmer reaction. The slow process continued on for a few minutes, as Garnet was too cautious to try scrubbing her to harshly. Eventually she was almost cleaned off, but it seemed the baby had about enough of the cloth. As her mother continued the blue gem began to make loud huffs, squirming with a bit more energy. Garnet took this as a sign of annoyance, but she pressed on, trying to finish the task she had set to.

Finally the blue gem turned to where the cloth was wiping the side of her head and bit into it. Garnet was surprised to say the least, specially since she caught one of Garnet's fingers as well. Of course being a gem had its advantages, like how her baby's teeth were not even braking the skin. Though she could feel the razor sharp baby teeth poking angrily onto her, she just didn't feel any pain.

The gemling pulled back, still upset and took a rip of the rag with her in her mouth. Though after that point the baby stalled. She now had a rag stuck in her mouth and she began to whimper, twisting in an attempt to pull it out from between her teeth.

"Ah,ah!" Garnet said as she swiftly stilled the panicked baby, loosening the cloth with her fingers and pulling it gently from her young's mouth. "None of that now."

The baby fussed a bit, unhappy as Garnet brought the cloth back, dabbing the last of the goo away. Though at this point it only took a few seconds to remove the last bit. She pulled the cloth away just in time to avoid another blind snap from Sapphire's jaws. She growled in it general direction before whining loudly.

Garnet couldn't help a smile as she pulled the bowl of water closer with her free hand. She still had to rinse the gemling off, but that was the last thing. The new mother cupped her young in both hands before lowering her into the luke warm water, watching her baby carefully for any ill reactions.

Sapphire was fine until the water began to swell up around her. She froze, curling up slightly at her first contact with water. As Garnet submerged her more she began to whine and shake at the foreign, wet pressure building around her.

"Your ok." Garnet murmured, helping the rinsing process go faster by rubbing the baby's skin with her her thumbs. "Its just water honey, you'll be ok."

Yet the blue gem didn't stop crying or quaking until her mother lifted her free of the thick substance. Once she was out she seemed desperate for closer contact, a fact she proved by lifting her tiny hands in the air towards Garnet's general directions, shaking them lightly with the universal sign for 'hold me close.'

Which Garnet did.

She pulled the babe to her cheek holding her there until she was sure the baby settled. Sapphire squirmed at first, trying to get comfortable, until she found just the right spot and melted into the side of her mouther's face. Garnet could feel a few restless twitches against cheek, so she began to hum a nameless tune she had heard Rose chime a hundred time. Gradually the little twitches and wriggles quelled and Garnet pulled her back to find the gemling sound asleep in her palm.

Smiling Garnet arranged a blanket to make a mini nest inside the larger one just big enough for the newborn to fit in. Once the little gem was comfortably placed, Garnet found her tiny hand again, holding the gem in it between her index finger and thumb. Garnet focused in her mind like Rose had instructed her, seeing an easy baby outfit before sending the barest amount of energy she could muster into her child.

Sapphire awoke with a yelp, but the white onsie materialized like Garnet imagined. The baby was less than impressed though, as she let out a shrill howl at being so rudely and frightfully awoken.

"Sorry, Baby." Garnet shushed. She rubbed her young's back, attempting to appease her back to sleep, and thanks to all the hard work her baby had done hatching into the world, she didn't need much convincing. With a few annoyed huffs and a soft yawn, she settled back into the soft fabric, relaxing into a deep slumber. "Thats my girl."

The new mother smiled as she watched her newborn sleep before she turned to observe the opposite corner of the nest ,where the red gemed geode sat. Garnet unwrapped the egg from the cookie-cat cloth, observing the crack to see if it had grown in size.

There wasn't any sign of it, but Garnet was saddened to note the greying gems were spreading. There were very few bright red gems left on the shell, though a few were in the process of changing colour and shine. However, Garnet noted as she shifted the egg, it had gotten heavier than before... Not as heavy as Sapphire's had been a day ago, but it was still a sign of development.

Bundling the egg up with an extra blanket this time around, Garnet set her back against the edge of the nest, checking that she was secure. Once assured that the egg wasn't going to roll out of place, Garnet stood, easing out of the nest and back to the door without disturbing either baby. Garnet sighed before imagining Stevens room and powering up the door.

VUUUUUURRRR

"MWAH!" Garnet flinched as her daughter was spooked by the loud noise of the door, and cursed her luck when she heard Steven groaning awake through the now open door. She swiftly shut it, echoing the same loud noise across the room, making the newborn become even more terrified. As Garnet went back to assure her baby she sighed.

While this would take a bit of getting used to, Garnet knew it would work out eventually. Even if one easily frightened baby was handful, she was still hoping to make it two.

* * *

Huh? Class Room Gems? Whats that? How gems are really made? They went into that? Oh pfft, I highly doubt that, hahaha- (Sweeps internet history under the rug.)

Well this is an AU :D


	7. Gal Pals

Garnet groaned slightly as she hefted her way up the steps of the temple. While normally this wasn't an issue for Garnet, the powerful and all knowing permanent fusion, she wasn't really herself.

Course if you were six months pregnant you'd be struggling to. Not to mention these were geodes she was carrying instead of one normal baby, like humans had. Not only did they have a thick, heavy, protective outer shell, they also were technically rocks. At the predicted size of a can of pop, they were beginning to take up space and push against Garnet's body. Normally at this point, a gem could count how many they had, but Garnet had a surprisingly hard time doing so. Apparently there was so much connate fluid surrounding the geodes that there wasn't much way to tell until they brushed against her when they shifted.

Rose had felt around gently on Garnet's stomach, being as well trained in the art of gem pregnancy as she was, and predicted anywhere from 2-6 geodes. Rose had shrugged at the mention of excess fluid, commenting that a gem of Garnet's size usually had more eggs at one time, so her body had anticipated extra. It was just the over preparation her body had set up for, in order to keep the eggs slippery and easier to managed while tightly pact together. So while Garnet would normally be starting to burst at the seams with little, slippery bumps and nick poking out on the skin of her belly, she just had an empty feeling, watery bump.

So, feeling like more of a waterbed than anything else, Garnet heaved herself up the last few stairs and into Amethyst's room. She... waddled in, a hand going to clutch her aching back. She slipped by a few piles of trash heading for the.. eh, NEXT set of stairs leading to Pearl's room.

"Hey Garnet!"

The red gem froze mid-step, head whipping around to find a stranger standing amongst Amethyst's items. Wait, not a stranger, she knew Garnet by name... She seemed oddly familiar, but Garnet couldn't place where she had seen the blonde before.

She was older, and a bit straggled, wearing an old smock and jeans. She smiled slightly as she managed her way past the garbage to Garnet's side. "Ah man, its been forever! The last time I saw you I had one kid."

"Ahhhh..." Garnet grumbled, unsure of the human's name or how she even got in here.

"I FOUND IT!" Ameythsyt cried out, hopping over to them, carrying an old trunk over her head. "I told you I still- Oh Garnet! Wondered where you got to, you remember Vidalia right?"

Vidalia... Human women, Greg and Amethyst's friend, the artist who painted Rose's portrait and mother of that Sour boy.

"Of course." Garnet agreed, watching as the trunk was set to the ground by the purple gem. "Whats going on?"

"V wanted to know if I still had the records I borrowed from her."

"More like 'appropriated'." Vidalia smirked. "When did you ASK for them again? Remind me?"

"Shut up, I did to!" Amethyst laughed. "Remember? Right after the- the thing with the stuff..."

"Amethyst, you power over the english language moves me deeply." Vidalia said, deadpanned before a large grin ate up most of her face.

"SHUT UP!" Amethyst laughed before they fell into a chorus of chuckles. "Ah god, your fulla shit today!"

"I do try my best." Vadalia said before turning back to Garnet. "Its been so long since I've hung out here in the temple! Or seen you guys, we should hang out again, maybe have a shindig or something."

Garnet shrugged, not really feeling committed to going to a party at the moment.

At the movement Vidalia's eyes scanned down Garent's figure, pausing at her middle. "Garnet... Are you pregnant?"

Garnet stiffened but Amethyst snatched the human by the shoulders before she could respond.

"Yoh!Uh I mean, V , come on, we gotta get this stuff back to you house, lets let Garnet go on about her boring business and-"

"I am." Garnet even surprised herself with her response. She had been avoiding this kind of conversation with everyone but Rose lately. She hadn't even told Steven yet and hadn't seen him since she had started to show.

Truthfully she didn't want to get his expectations up if she wasn't sure what she was doing with them yet.

"Well congratulation!" Vadalia smiled, easily pulling her arm from Amethyst's grasp. The smaller gem looked shocked that Garnet was even getting into this conversation. "Hey Ame said you guys are... whats it? Inter-sex right? Which one of you lent Garnet the sugar?"

Amethyst fell began to chew on her bottom lip nervously. "Umm... Well..."

"I don't know." Garnet said, looking away to one of the mountains of trash. "I was on Homeworld, got separated from the others, then got knocked unconscious and by the time I came around..." Garnet gestured to her mid section vaguely.

It felt strange to talk about it after ignoring it in conversation for so long. Everyone tiptoeing around with their words whenever Garnet spoke to them, or her blatantly ignoring the others when they tried to bring up the subject. It was almost as if there was a large monster roaming the temple and everyone was more keen to give it whatever space it wanted, just so long as it stayed out of sight.

"Oh!" The blonde women gocked for a moment. "Oh shit, Im sorry..."

"S'fine." Garnet grumbled, kind of expecting thing to get awkward at this point.

"Well hell if I don't know what thats like, some assholes just wanna stay for the ride." Vadlalia scoffed. "Marty was the same way, hung out with him a few days and the jerk leaves first chance he gets. Didn't even know I was pregnant till he was four days gone. The giant prick." She blew a blonde stand of hair from her face. "How are you doing though? Your breasts swollen up like balloons yet?"

"Ahh..."Garent was somewhat shocked at how this was turning out. She somewhat expected the human would want to get out of conversing with her. Though she supposed she should have expected no less with a friend of Amethyst's.

Not to mention she had brought up a good point. Garnet had been trying to ignore it, but every once and a while she could get a bit... tender...

"Ah, don't worry, just take a warm bath and they'll deflate. I should know, been through this horse show twice." Vadalia smiled. "What are your plans then?"

"Im not sure yet..." Garnet mumbled.

"Well I dunno how you feel about it, but abortion is an option, I know not everyone agrees with that option but you still have the choice -"

"Gems cannot get abortions. The geodes are technically part of the mother's body until its time to lay them. If the geode is damaged, in a way besides natural miscarriage, our bodies loose its structure and causes regeneration, causing us to reform, geodes intact."

Vadalia blinked a bit before turning back to amethyst.

"We poof and nothing changes." Amethyst shrugged.

"Ah." Vadalia nodded. 'Well, what are the options you have?"

"Well, I can keep them or send them to Homeworld for reassignment/adoption." Garnet frowned. "Not sure how well I can care for them, given the situation, but the Homeowrld options a little iffie on what kind of home they'll end up in."

"Sounds pretty difficult." Vadalia said, studying the gem before her. "Course it might be best to focus on the now at the moment."

Garnet blinked. "How do you mean?"

"Well what every ends up happening your still pregnant now." Vadalia shrugged. "All this planning for the future stuff is important but you need to take the time to relax. Being that stressed isn't good for anyone right now. You need 'me' time." Vadalia smiled a bit. 'I learned that the hard way when I was expecting Sour Cream." The blonde turned to snatch Amethyst up in a headlock, with the purple gem too shocked to resist. "This lil lady help out a lot when that was going on."

"Pfft, like its hard to wind you up." Amethyst snickered, causing Vadalia to punch her in the shoulder.

"Quiet you, Im trying to be helpful!" The woman sent Amethyst a grin before she looked back to the red gem. "Just try to find something to take your mind off the trouble for now, trust me, you'll feel loads better and you might have a clearer head for thinking later."

That advice... was pretty sound. Garnet pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I suppose it couldn't hurt."

"Yah, Treat Yourself!" Vadalia smiled, as Amethyst chuckled. "Well I leave you to that while I take this turkey-" The blonde lifted Amethyst up a bit by the back of her shirt "To take my records back to my house."

"About that." Amethyst shrugged with a sheepish grin. "Um, I think some of them might be a bit grungy... cause I played Frisbee with 'em..."

"Oh come on! I can forgive forgetting my eldest child in a different state, but this is just going too far!" Vadalia snickered. "Ah well, so long as my main jam isn't busted. "

"Like I'd disrespect Shania Twain like that." Amethyst agreed, jumping up to meet her friend in a high five.

Garnet watched the two laughing and pushing against each other before she turned and headed for Pearl's room once more. Normally when Garnet wanted to relax, she took a dip in the lava pool of her room, but had been steering clear of it in worry that her eggs would come out boiled.

Maybe she could get Pearl to heat up one of her fountains or something.

Garnet was about only three steps up the next flight before her back began to gripe at her again. She grunted and held her back, pushing onward.

One thing was for sure, these geodes would be a lot less of a pain in the back once they were out.


	8. Ailing

Garnet shuttered slightly as she held Ruby to her chest,dropping a rag back into the bucket of cold water. The young whined into her mother's shoulder as she squirmed against Garnet's hold, crying out when the cool cloth touched her skin again, sending steam swirling up into the air with an ominous hiss.

Garnet groaned, feeling guilty. "She's broiling hot, but she feels like she's freezing..." She mumbled sadly, wiping her daughter off to try and temper the heat. The child sobbed at the horrible cloth, clutching her mother's finger as she weakly kicked her leg. Garnet cooed as she set the now dry rag into the dish and cupped the girl with both hands. "I'm sorry,baby. Its for your own good..."

Fever had set in a few days ago, and while Garnet had monitored her closely it wasn't breaking. It seemed the infection Rose had predicted was starting to do its worst. Today the blankets in her bed had started to burn and singe. Garnet had plucked her from the covers just as embers had started to smoke. While it was true fire wouldn't hurt Ruby, it was also likely that it wouldn't help in reducing her temperature. So Garnet had sat with her for the last few hours, trying to cool her in a desperate attempt to stave off what was inevitable.

Not to mention Ruby was getting weaker every day. Garnet had tried to feed her earlier, but Ruby just wouldn't take. She was too upset to try, that or her sickness was making her nauseous. Any attempt to get her to latch were met with squirming rebuttal. In the end Garnet decided to focus all her efforts into the fever, hoping lowering it would return her baby's appetite.

In her time Garnet had seen many battles, over come many obstacles, and face countless adversaries, but never has she experienced this feeling of helplessness.

Ruby flinched violently when the wet cloth was reapplied. She shrieked loudly, which spluttered into a harsh coughing fit. Her chest heaved with each breath, wheezing and hacking in a volume loud enough to rival even a fully grown gem. Spit dribbled from her mouth when she finally finished, as she laboured to breath Garnet wiped her mouth clean. The fact that she was using her lungs was very concerning... Her body wasn't getting enough oxygen it needed from normal means.

There was a gentle knocking sound from the entrance of the room. At first Garnet bristled, angry that some one would come so close to her nest when her baby was vulnerable. Yet Garnet tempered herself, turning to find Rose standing at the entry was silent besides Ruby's rough wheezing and Rose made her way closer until she settled next to Garnet in the nest. Garnet was scowling, if only because she had a strange urge to force Rose from the room while at the same time beg her to stay...

Rose cleared her throat slightly. "I came in here to see you because Sapphire is starting to get hungry."

"What? Oh dammit, what time is it?!" Garnet put Ruby to her chest as she looked around the room for the clock she had placed in there. Find it ticking away where she had left it last, it informed her of what she already guessed. "I should have fed her an hour ago."

"Yes, well I can see why you forgot..." Rose edged closer and peered at Garnet's cupped hand, currently held tightly to her chest. "May I?"

Garnet stiffened, but forced herself to pull her hand away, revealing Ruby to the wiser gem. The baby shivered when the cool air made contact with her once more, Ruby keened softly, wishing to be held close again. When Rose pushed on her shoulder slightly, rolling her onto her back Ruby squeaked. Which turning to squealing when Rose began to prod her gently, check her temperature and looking for symptoms. Ruby attempted to fend off the untrusted stranger, but she was only able to kick her feet slightly and twitch her arms. As Ruby began to wail she started another coughing fit, one bad enough that she was gagging, and Rose actually took Ruby from her mother's hand to help her. Rolling her onto her stomach in Rose's palm and patting her back softly with two fingers.

Garnet was a little shocked when something deep inside her roared at her to break Rose's arm. She was even more surprised she managed to ignore the strong emotion, only biting down on her own cheek instead...

However both gems froze when Ruby cough something up.

It was sticky and covered in spit, but the black sludge was a clear indicator that something was horribly wrong...

"I afraid I was right. Infection has set in..." Rose murmured, jumping slightly when Ruby weakly bit her hand, with not even enough power to cause an imprint. Ruby wriggled lethargically, chirping in a tone that set Garnet on edge, as the baby began to cry with thick tear dribbling down her cheeks. Yet Rose only smiled sadly down at the gemling. "Oh I'm sorry Ruby... Who is this scary smelling stranger that stole you away, am I right? You want mama don't you..." Rose cupped the baby in her hand and softly lowered her into Garnet's. Once back with her mother Ruby held as tightly as she could to the nearest finger, curling around it and falling silent, shaking fearfully in terror that she'd be stolen away once more.

Garent was quick to cup her other hand over her baby in comfort, but looked back to Rose when her leader sighed. The pink women was looking up at the bubbled gems floating above them on the ceiling in contemplation, and after a few moments she looked back at her comrade sadly. "Im so sorry Garnet..."

Garnet stared back at Rose, her visor still on leaving her expression blank, until her chin quivered.

"I am too..." She croaked lifting Ruby to her lips to kiss her.

It was quiet...

Rose shifted uncomfortably in her seat as Garnet just held the baby to her. Stroking her head as her laboured breathing returned, coughing lightly in her relaxed state. Rose wiped an eye before offer the small tear drop on it to Garnet, who uncoiled Ruby from her hold and held the baby out before her. Rose allow the tear to fall down to Ruby's face, who spluttered at the salty taste and whimpered. Yet Garnet already knew it wouldn't help... The infection couldn't be removed by healing tears... It could only be destroyed by ... retreating into ones gem... And the chances that a baby would reform were...

Garnet pulled Ruby to her again, shuttered when Ruby settled peacefully in her palm, the tear easing some of her discomfort. The child cooed at the feeling, coughing slightly at the end of the content sound. Garnet felt Rose place a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

"I'll leave you two alone..." Rose said, going to stand, pausing when Garnet looked up to her.

"Could you get Sapphire... bring her down here so I can feed her? I don't wanna leave Ruby, but I dunno how she'd handle being carried around the temple right now..."

"Of course Garnet, I'll go right now." Rose turned and hurried out of the room, sighing as Ruby started to cough again by the time she was halfway up the steps. The noises drew quieter the farther she was from the room, but the feeling of dread knotted in Rose's stomach was still tight. Upon reaching Pearl's room Rose went to collect sapphire where she had been staying on a stone pad. Not wanting Ruby to waken Sapphire in the night with fevered crying or possibly inflict her with the same illness should the two get too close, Garnet had asked Pearl to keep her in the water gem's room for a bit.

As Rose approached she could see Pearl leaned over Steven's old bassinet, where Sapphire was currently residing. Rose could hear a soft whimpering when was close enough, and called out. "Pearl?"

"Oh, Rose." Pearl said, turning to her leader in concern. "I think Sapphire's hungry, but she's not making a lot of noise... I'm a little worried."

"Really?" Rose frowned, not wanting two sick babies at once she made her way to Pearl side and looking down at the tiny blue gem. Sapphire was squirming and whining, but over all was pretty quiet. Rose reached in and felt the child, but found her to be her usual cool temperature. The baby shyd away from Roses touch, crying out once before falling silent again.

"What's wrong wrong with her, Rose?" Pearl asked, wringing her hands.

Rose pursed her lip, she had seen this before, when Amethyst was new born. When she had realized her own mother was not coming back for her. However with Sapphire it didn't make any sense. It had been less than twenty four hours since Sapphire had seen her mother, and she hadn't been handled by anyone. Though unlike Ruby, Sapphire had been acclimated to the scent and touch of her aunts, so their voices and smells didn't frighten her. Yet being held in their hands, without knowing for sure Garnet was around, was not something Sapphire approved of.

Rose hummed thoughtfully before gathering Sapphire up with a cushions of blankets around her. Upon smelling Rose's scent Sapphire started to wail, but Rose didn't put her down. "I'm not sure why she's acting like this Pearl, but I need to get her back to Garnet, Ruby's taken a turn and she dosen't want to leave her."

"Won't Sapphire get sick as well?" Pearl frowned.

"Not as long as we keep some distance between the two, though I don't think the infection could spread to her it is better to be safe than sorry." Rose hurried back to the staircase, and spoke to Pearl as she went. "Stay up here for now, Garnet will need some time to herself, I'll update you and Amethyst on whats going on as they happen."

'Well, alright Rose. If your sure." Pearl called after them, stand at the top of the step as Rose descended deeper into the temple. Sapphire still struggled in her arms, whining to be put down, ruffling the blankets around her as she kicked and squirmed. By the time Rose returned to the Burning room Sapphire had started to shriek, and Rose was wincing at the pitch the baby could reach.

"Garnet, I'm back!" Rose called over the fuss, walking to Garnet's hunched form in the nest. "Garnet?"

The fusion looked back at her, but said nothing, only opening her hand to reveal the tiny Ruby gem inside.


	9. Time

"Pearl, is Garnet doing ok?"

There was an audible clash as the frying pan fell back to the stove top. Steven watched as Pearl scrambled to save the eggs, scrapping them onto a plate before turning to face him, looking slightly pale. "W-what?!"

"I said is Garnet ok?" Steven repeated, looking up at his caretaker with a worried expression.

"Garnet? Wel- ah bhah- I mean to say, uh, why do you ask, Steven?" The gem quickly turned her back again, throwing the pans into the sink and beginning to wash them. "What ever gave you the idea that she's not ok?"

Steven frowned and looked to the floor. "Well, everything has been so weird with her lately. She was really quiet before she disappeared for about four months... Nobody was telling me where she went and I thought it was some kind of secret mission. I was worried about her until she came back and she seemed fine even if she spent more time in the temple then usual... Now she's gone again."

Pearl blinked, sweating slightly before pulling on a masking smile and looking back to the child. "Oh everything fine Steven! Garnet's just busy, I'm sure she'll give you an explanation later on..."

Steven scuffed his shoe, still staring at the floor. "Pearl why is everyone lying to me?" Said gem froze as Steven continued. "So many things are happening and everyone looks upset or stressed out. I mean mom stopped the temple tours, then Connie and dad can't come into the temple, you've been cleaning non-stop and Amethyst is really quiet. Not to mention mom hasn't been around much. I mean I know she's important and has a lot of work to do, it's just recently I haven't seen her at all." Steven wrung his hands. "When Garnet came back everything got better and I thought it was over... but now she's gone again... and the temple feels really depressing to be in again, like everyone's sad again and it makes me feel that way to, and I don't know why..." Steven sighed. "I just feel like, if I knew what was going on with everybody I could help, and make everything better again."

Pearl seemed to swallow heavily but still wasn't looking at him.

"Pearl please. I want to help." Steven pleaded, staring sadly up at the white gem.

"Steven..." Pearl sighed but turned to look at him, tired and a little depressed. "There isn't anything you can do..."

"How do you know?! I could, I can do lots of things to help! Anything!"

"Steven..." Pearl knelt to him. "Trust me, you can't fix this... No one can really." She stopped him when the boy went to disagree. "I know you're worried and I'll be honest with you, Garnet's... Garnet's going through a rough patch. If anyone should tell you what's happening its her, its not my place to tell you about it, but for now there is nothing anyone, not even Garnet or your mother, can do right now."

Steven pouted a bit, scuffing his shoes and looking away. Pearl frowned as she put an arm around him. "Look, there maybe nothing you can do with the... immediate issue, but you can help me and Amethyst. If Rose and Garnet don't have to worry about us then there's less on their plate."

Steven seemed to think about this before nodding quietly.

"Good, now how's about you go check on the clothes in the dryer while I finish this cleaning, ok? You eggs should be cool enough to eat once you've returned." Pearl said, patting the boy on the head.

"Ok." Steven mumbled before wandering to the warp pad.

* * *

"So she didn't tell you anything helpful..."

Steven frowned from where he sat in front of the Big Donut, pushing half a jelly donut into his mouth with little enjoyment. He sighed unhappily before responding. "Nothing. I mean I dunno why, I just want to help..."

"Well maybe they just want to protect you from... something..." Connie's static voice echoed from the cell perch near Steven's ear. "They do deal with a lot of dangerous stuff. What if something is loose in the temple?"

"Something loose in the temple...hmmmm." Steven mumbled around the second half of the donut, cleaning his finger of the powder. "I think the slinker is still in there, but there wasn't anything to worry about when I was in there before... Maybe another bubbled gem popped?"

"Yah and what if it and the slinker fused?! Or maybe the they just teamed up!" Connie agreed.

" Then why wouldn't they let me help them?! I've help them on tons of missions before. I thought they trusted me..." Steven slumped in his plastic chair.

"I'm sure they do, but adults can overact sometimes." Connie said. "I mean, my parents already have me taking classes to prepare for my SATs, which I need to be getting to... Good luck Steven"

"Good luck to you too Connie." Steven agreed as he heard her hang up. "Man, grading people for how they sit... Whats up with this crazy world."

The shop door jingled as Lars came out, looking grumpy. He began to haphazardly stack the chairs onto their tables. "Ding Ding Steven. We're closed, go home." He said, plopping another chair up.

"Lars, we're friends right?" Steven asked, but didn't really hear what the boy grumbled in return. "Yah, of course we are... What would you do if someone close to you was keeping secrets... Like if Sadie was sad and she wasn't telling you why..."

"Wait, Sadie's upset about something?!" Lar asked, looking worried. "Ah crap, what did I do?!"

"No no... I meant hypothetically. Like what if your... mom as sad but didn't tell you why..."

Lars grumbled again, but seemed slightly relieved. "Well then its none of my beeswax. If people have issues they know who to ask for help... Course one time when I was like five, my mom was upset, so I pulled the dandelions out of the back yard and gave her a bouquet. Kinda crappy gift but it made her happy for a few seconds I guess... I mean people like flowers for some reason."

"People like flowers... for soME REASON! Lars, thats a great idea!" Steven shouted , rocking his chair back and forth.

Lar walked to his side and glared down at him as the boy excitedly laughed. "Yah super, now get off that chair, I need to stack it with the rest." He gestured to the other tables only for the chairs to fall over in a pile. The boy gaped for a moment, so horror struck that he didn't notice Steven runoff. Lars glowered before snatching the last chair and tossing it on the pile. "Stack it with the rest."

* * *

Steven scrambled up the house steps, a handful of tulips in one hand. He half hoped Onion's mom wouldn't miss them from her garden, but he had seen Sour Cream wave to him as he left so it was most likely alright.

Stumbling to the temple entry way Steven managed to open the door and slip inside...

For a while he hadn't been allowed in. So this was kind of a covert mission of sorts and once he found Garnet she could lead him out and then finally tell him what was going on. He looked around to see if he knew where he was but chuckled when he recognized his mother's room. Not that he could open any other rooms himself right now.

"Room, one staircase into the temple please." Steven ordered, watching the clouds part way to an old stone entryway. "Thank you!" He stumbled down them, finding it lead to Amethysts room… He wasn't sure how these room thingys worked, but he was pretty sure Amethyst's room was at the bottom of the temple.

Dang it.

He tiptoed around the piles of junk, trying to find the stairs up. Oddly he noted that the room seemed more organized than when he was last here. Something out of character for Amethyst. There was definitely something going on.

He managed to find the staircase, but it was covered in stuff. He climbed over a rocking chair and old blankets to the first uncovered step when his foot nudged a can, that toppled over to the ground, knocking over a few other odd objects which made a large banging noise.

He froze, flowers in hand. His eyes darted around the room. All was still and quiet…

Thank goodness-

"STEVEN!"

The boy jumped, looking down he paled when Ametyst crawled out from a pile of objects… no wait, it was a fort made to look like one of the other piles now that he was looking at it. Cool. On the other hand the purple gem was now staring at him.

"What the hey ho are you doing here?" She shouted, eyes wide.

"I broke in to see Garnet." Steven said, smiling nervously, with Amethyst she wasn't sure how the gem would react to him doing this. Usually she was a 'rules are made to be broken' kinda person.

"Nuh huh!" Amethyst frowned, throwing her hands up. "You're not supposed to be in here! Go back to your room Steven."

Apparently she wasn't letting this slip.

"Aww, Please! I just want to help her, I got her-"

"No. No. AND NO!" Amethyst said sternly. "For once Steven, these rules gotta be followed! Now go back outside ok?" She pointed to the door sternly.

'Awww…" Steven sighed in defeat. "Well I guess if you have to follow the rules then-" He spun mid sentence and started to run up the stairs. "We'll laugh about this one day!"

Amethyst must have been shocked because she didn't respond until he was almost at the top "STEVEN!" She shouted and he heard her start to pursue.

Uh oh.

Steven knew he had little time. Amethyst was pretty speedy when she wanted to be and it looked like she want to be. She looked like a spinny purple ball she was moving so fast. Steven panted, making it over the top step, pushing open the door and hurrying into Pearl's room. He made it three steps before squealing as his sandals slid in a puddle of water. He managed to keep his footing and continue on, spotting the next set of stairs easily, thanks to Pearl's tidy room...

Only now that he thought about it, it looked a bit more messy than normal. Puddles were everywhere and the fountains seemed more sporadic than usual.

"AAHH!" Amethyst yelled out from behind him and Steven stopped to looking back. She had slipped in the puddle, just as he had, but she was headed straight for a nearby pool. She made a gurgled yelp when she slipped inside.

"Oh my gosh! Amethyst!" Steven frowned, watching her bob back up to the surface. "Are you ok?!"

She spat out a spray of water before checking herself over, looking at her gem specifically. "Yeah, just a lil' water logged." Amentyst sighed and started to swim for the edge.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep." She said and took hold of the pool side. "100%"

"Good. Good." Steven nodded, then he turned and started to book it again.

"Wah-! Steven! Get back here! Stop!"

But he didn't stop. He was on a mission and Steven never gave up on a mission. He scrambled up the stairs, smiling when the walls changed from blue to red. Almost there! Almost there!

He spied the doorway around the bend and tried to speed up, as soon as he was through that door-!

Steven gasped when his foot was snared, falling harsly to the stairs bellow. He managed to grab hold of them so as not to be pulled back down by Amethyst's elongated hand. "No! Ametyst I'm so close!"

"Steven! Shhh!" Ametyst whisper shouted. 'We're not supposed to be up here!"

"I just wanna help-"

"None of this helps! We can't help! Just come back to your room!" Amethyst was practically begging now.

"No!" Steven kicked his leg in an effort to get free. "I can help! I know I can, just stop pushing me away!"

"Steven… We're not! Nobody knows what to do right now! " Ametyst sighed. "The only thing we can do is wait, and it's driving us all insane! I actually tried to organize my room to keep myself busy! Organize! Me!" Steven paused top look down at her. "Dude… Just come back to your room. We can watch Tv or something…"

"Ametyst…"

VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

They both froze when the door opened. Garnet stepped out of the room, looking down on them darkly. She had her glasses on and her face was neutral but the air was tense with her arrival…

The two quickly dismantled and stood up before her as Garnet shut the door, not taking her eyes away from them. Steven swallowed a little under the scrutiny and Amethyst came up the steps to his side.

"H-hey Garnet…" Amethyst said, sounding nervous. "How are you feeling?" When Garnet just deepened her frown the purple girl grimaced. "Sorry about the noise. We uhm… just ummm…"

Steven looked between the two. He didn't want Ametyst to be in trouble! He quickly stepped in front of her. "Its my fault. I broke in…" Steven frowned sadly. "I was just worried about you and want to make sure you were ok! I brought you these." He lifted up the slightly damaged tulips quietly. As Garnet stared down at the offering a petal fluttered down uselessly.

Amethyst went around to Steven's side. "Thats… nice of you! We should go back to your room now though." She smiled and tried to start leading him down the stairs.

"But-" Steven blinked/

Grent suddenly moved, reaching down and taking the flowers from Steven's hand. She inspected them closely and a small amount of tension left her face. Steven smiled as Amethyst started to take him back down. "Well, she got her flowers so let's give Garnet some space and-"

"Wait."

They both paused, looking back up at Garnet. The larger gem was still looking over the flowers before she walked down to them. "I'll take Steven back to his room."

"Are you sure?" Amethyst asked, surprised.

"Yes. We're gonna talk." Garnet said, patting the boy on the head. Steven couldn't help but jump for joy. He might finally get some answers!

"If you're sure..?" Amethyst said.

"I'm sure." She put a hand to the back of steven's head and instead began to lead him up the stairs towards his mother's room. He could see Ametyst looking concerned as they left her behind and headed back up the stairs.

They arrived back in Rose's room, the doors parting to reveal the pink clouds inside. Garnet lead him until they came to see the room had recreated Steven's couch. She sat down, gesturing for him to join her. He did so shy, kicking his legs a little as Garnet went back to studying the tulips.

"I'm sorry I worried you Steven." She said, surprising him. He watched her as she oddly didn't take her eyes off the flowers for a moment.

"Its ok…" Steven frowned. "So long as your ok… Your ok? Right?"

Garnet fluffed up her flowers before taking a deep breath. She sighed sadly before setting the tulips down on a randomly generated table. She shifted in her seat to turn to him. "In a way." She answered mysteriously.

"In what way?" Steven asked.

Garnet sighed again, putting her hands together. " I'm… physically fine Steven. I'm just not very… happy right now."

"Why?"

Garnet twitched a little. "Well I just-" She coughed a little and stared down at the floor. "I lost something. Something very important." She clutch the side of the couch in her hand.

"Well what was it? Maybe we can find it or get something like it!" Steven offered.

Garnet looked up at him quickly, she seemed surprised by his suggestion but smiled somberly in response. "I'm afraid that can't be done Steven. What I lost… well it can't be replaced."

"Where did you lose it then?" Steven frowned. "I lose stuff all the time and you just need to retrace your steps and-"

"Not that kind of lost Steven." Garnet said simply.

"I don't understand. What are you talking about then?" Steven asked, just getting more confused by their talk.

"Steven… This is very difficult to talk about." Garnet said. There was a hint of emotion to her voice, though her face didn't show it. "I'd rather have some time to sort through my emotions… I don't think I'm ready to talk to anyone about this in depth."

Steven blinked. "Oh." He hadn't really thought about that. Whenever he was sad there were always people trying to cheer him up. Course, whenever he was sad it was about something less than usual. Like snakes… Poor little armless babies… Garnet seemed sad about something very serious… She had lost something forever. Something important…

"I'm sorry Garnet. I just felt like everyone didn't want to involve me, but I guess this just doesn't need me involved?" He blinked, wondering if he worded this right. "I Guess I felt left off the team."

"It does involve you a little Steven. As a part of this family and team your life is affected by this as well. Even if you don't get the just of it." Garnet said. "I know you understand somethings wrong but only time can help us right now. Just like a storm howling outside, all you can do is wait for it pass. There's nothing else to do in a situation like this…"

"I don't like feeling helpless like this Garnet." Steven frowned.

Garnet looked back down at the floor, hands on her knees. "I do to."

The two sat in silence for a bit, contemplating their thoughts before the temple door opened. Rose came in but stopped when she spotted them. "Oh Garnet! Steven! What are you doing in here?" The pink haired woman walked over top them, frowning in disappointment at her son. "You know you aren't supposed to be in here for a bit."

"I'm sorry, I was just worried about Garnet." Steven said, pointing to Garnet who kept her eyes trained on the floor. "But she and I talked and stuff, and I think I understand that she needs alone time…"

"Thank you Steven." Garnet said, looking up again. " I promise it won't be for much longer."

"Steven why don't we go watch some tv? Crying Breakfast Friends is on. You know how much I love watching that with you!" Rose said enticingly. The boy didn't offer much more complaint and stood from his seat. He paused to pat one of Garnet's hands before going for the door his mother gestured to. "I'll be with you in a minute."

Once the temple door closed Rose looked back at Garnet, wincing when she spotted the Tulips the red gem was picking up in her hands. "Did Steven bring you those?" She asked.

"Yes… Sweet of him." Garnet muttered, plucking a petal from one. They were bright red in colour.

Rose sighed and sunk down to sit beside Garnet. "You don't have to rush this Garnet. Take all the time you need to feel a little more yourself. What happened is very traumatic."

"She was so small Rose." Garnet frowned, studying the petal in her hand.

Rose looked down at her hands. "She was. Much too small for what she went through."

Garnet steeled for a moment before standing swiftly. "I'm going to my room for a bit." She rushed out of the room without another word and Rose only watched her go.

The pink gem sighed one last time before standing up and fluffing out her dress. She plastured a contented look on her face before going to join Steven out in the main room.

Hopefully this situation would get better before it got worse…

* * *

Well its been more than a year hasn't it! Left you guys on quite a cliff hanger too didn't I? Well I do want to continue this story! I just need to find my notes that I may have imagined making or threw out or something… I kinda forgot where a few of these heads were going, but worry not! I will finagle my way through as I have with everything else in my life.

Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long as this one did. As I said I need to be in a mood to write this one and the mood finally struck! I'm still feeling it so I may keep going for a bit longer! Wish me luck!


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